Teenager loses finger in health and safety oversight

Posted on July 05^th 2012

Most liability insurance customers take health and safety very seriously, especially when it involves teenage workers. However, for one West Midlands food production company their failure to follow proper procedures has led to a nasty accident involving a particularly young employee.

A 16-year-old worker who must remain anonymous was clearing a blockage on a biscuit crumbing machine at Phoenix Brands Ltd in Bilston when his hand was pulled into a screw conveyor, made of rotating screw blades used to break biscuits. Liability insurance customers will be unsurprised to hear that his hand was badly mutilated and his middle finger was so badly damaged that doctors had no choice but to amputate it.

The accident was particularly horrifying due to the young age of the worker injured. HSE inspector David Evans explained: "To be injured so seriously just a few weeks into his working life has been profoundly upsetting for this young man. The incident was entirely avoidable."

"The risks of clearing blockages had not been properly identified. If they had been, workers would not have been able to access dangerous moving parts of machinery."

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated and found that the screw conveyor was completely unguarded and had never had proper safety guards in place. Phoenix Brands Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Liability insurance, if the company has it, will be called into play to the tune of around £13,000 in fines and costs as a result.

Related links

HSE report on the court case which followed the accident

Other liability insurance news stories

• Twelve years of bad health and safety practice leads to nasty accident
• Two teenagers injured in health and safety oversight
• 2012 Olympics insurance risk highlighted
• 'Rogue Trader' caught out again